Curious George: Critic Reviews

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the new cartoon of Curious George, featuring the voice of Will Ferrell as the Man in the Yellow Hat, doesn't veer all that far from the soothing tone of the books.

With top-drawer voice talent and old-fashioned two-dimensional animation that echoes the simple colors and shapes of the books, Curious George is an unexpected delight.

It's a gentle, unhurried, largely hand-drawn children's cartoon with a nice simple storyline and no nods and winks to the grown-ups.

The movie, particularly the endearing George, should appeal to young children, and the humor should elicit a few chuckles among their parents as well.

It's pretty elementary.

Artful simplicity may be an impossible quality in a modern children's movie, so Curious George opts instead for mayhem under a blanket of sweetness. The little ones understand.

Misanthropic toddlers will be rolling in the aisles.

Skip the movie altogether, and buy one of the books, instead.

Visually, the movie benefits from a charming animation style, a traditional 2-D approach layered with shadows and backlit halos. But it benefits most from George, still worming his way into people's hearts.

Adults and kids older than 12 may find the story a few bananas short of a bunch, but expect the younger set to find it curiously satisfying.

The movie is faithful to the spirit and innocence of the books, and director Matthew O'Callaghan and his team create a visual look that is uncluttered, charming, and not so realistic that it undermines the fantasies on the screen.

If these virtues sound passive, it's because the movie is passive, not to mention overplotted and misfocused.

When children are so into a movie that they don't make a peep or kick the back of your theater seat, it is a success.

The makers of Curious George have figured out how to make an innocent cartoon that will amuse knee-nuzzlers without hitting adults like a liter of chloroform.

If you count yourself among the curious, spend an afternoon with George.

Rudimentary on every level, this long-gestating Universal pic based on the children's character is pitched toward the youngest of kids -- roughly ages zygote to 4 -- with direct-to-video quality animation, plotting and backgrounds.

Despite 16 years in development and drafts by many prominent Hollywood screenwriters, the finished product (credited to O'Callaghan and Mike Webb) feels undeveloped, like a 10-minute TV cartoon stretched to barely feature length.

This is an adaptation that is absolutely faithful to the child's-eye-view books, down to the name of the ship that brings George from Africa -- the H.A. Rey.

Despite eerie narrative parallels with King Kong, the most curious thing about Curious George is how gentle it is.

Gentle enough to satisfy the wee ones but has little to offer their adult companions...

This thoughtful adaptation gets it mostly right, from those warm visuals to the amiable cast.

George is just so darn cute with his big eyes and bright smile and perpetually sunny disposition, he's pretty much impossible to resist.

As simple, friendly, kid-appropriate and nontoxic as any major motion picmerchtainment franchise could ever hope to be.

Sure, it's a film for the toddlers, but that doesn't mean the adults can't find something good from it.

Director Matthew O'Callaghan and screenwriter Ken Kaufman haven't tried to create a film that's hip, just one that's funny and sweet, and in that sense they've succeeded.